Communicating To Get Promoted
You’ve worked at your company for a while, and haven’t received a promotion. Even if you are doing excellent work, your ability to communicate your worth can help you get promoted. According to SHRM Blog, you should be promoted every three years or less.
Our CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a Soulcast Media | LIVE event on LinkedIn, where she interviewed Executive Coach and Bestselling Author, Bonnie Marcus.
They shared tips and personal stories about how you can use your communication skills to get promoted. This Soulcast Media | LIVE event is brought to you by our amazing sponsors at Sabobatage.
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1. Communicate Your Strengths
During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Bonnie talked about how so many talented people are overlooked for a promotion. Because of this, she said it is so important to communicate your strengths. She said your strengths are more than your skills.
Consider the following:
- Current Projects – You need to let other people know what you are working on. This doesn’t mean your current work projects need to be at the top of every conversation. However, it is important to share what you are doing with your superiors. For example, if you are in a team meeting, consider sharing the progress of your projects. You can say something like, “The website redesign is going well. I am working on updating our content. I’d love to show you the progress I’ve made thus far.” Sharing what you are working on can help you share your strengths with your superiors.
- Your Experiences – During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Bonnie shared how her past experiences with her father’s cardiac health issues made her passionate about the medical field. These experiences also made her unafraid to speak and interact with physicians. Her passion for the medical field and her ability to keep doctors in check weren’t specifically technical skills related to the job she wanted, but they were what the company was looking for. She was able to align her experiences with her skills, making her the perfect candidate for the job. Think about your experiences outside of your skillset.
- Your Value – You bring value to your job. You need to communicate this value to the decision-makers within your organization. For example, think about the things you do that nobody else does. Maybe you are the only person who understands CSS. Or perhaps you are the only person who can set up all of the technical aspects of an event. Your value-add is a strength.
2. Current And Future Employers
When thinking about a promotion, you need to consider your current and future employers. During the Soulcast Media | LIVE, Jessica and Bonnie talked about how you need to align yourself with the goals of your current and future employers.
If you want to be strategic in positioning yourself, think about what other people care about – Jessica Chen
Consider the following:
- What are their objectives? If you don’t know your department or company’s objectives, find out what they are. You can ask your superior what they want to accomplish. For example, you can ask something like, “Where do you want our department to be by the end of the year?” When you know their objectives, you can intentionally align yourself with these objectives. This will help you stand out to the right people within your organization.
- What do they need? – After you find out the objective, think about what your company/department needs to get there. For example, suppose the objective is to have an e-commerce store within the website. In that case, they’re going to need people to take pictures of all of the products, someone to upload the photos on the site, and have a back end for all of the products updated with stock quantities, and more. Once you know what the department will need, you can actively take steps to put yourself in a position to fill those needs. When you do this, you build your credibility, and show more of your strengths.
- How can you help? – Think about how you can help your department or company reach their objectives and fill any needs. This means connecting the dots between what you can offer and what they want. For example, if you know your company needs someone to create consistent content for an online blog, and you have writing experience, offer to write some of the blog posts. Then, when you speak to your boss about getting a raise or being promoted, you can show the extra value you are bringing to them and the company.
Focusing on your company’s objectives will help you position yourself to get promoted.
3. Tailor Your Message
No matter what you communicate to others, it is important to constantly tailor your message. This is especially true when you share your strengths and value to get promoted. You can capture their attention when you tailor your message to what the other person cares about.
Consider the following:
- Audience – Think about who you are speaking to; this will help you tailor your message. For example, if you are speaking to your superior, consider whether or not they know the technical aspects of your job. If you are talking to them about your skills, you may want to simplify technical concepts so they can easily understand your message. When you tailor your message to your audience, you show you’ve taken the extra step to think about them first.
- Outcome – What do you hope will happen at the end of your conversation? If you want to be promoted, you have to tailor your message, so it aligns with your desired outcome. For example, think about your superior, are they overwhelmed with their current situation? If so, you can tailor your promotion message with how this will help them instead of how it will help you. When you focus on the outcome, you can adapt your message accordingly.
- Information – Your message will contain many pieces of information; however, it is essential to decide what the most important elements are. For example, your superiors or the decision-makers within your organization don’t need to know every aspect of your job or skill set. Instead, they need to see how you can fill a need and why you’re the best person to do it. Tailoring the information within your message will help you get the outcome you desire.
Tailoring your message helps you communicate in a way the other person wants to communicate. This will help you gain their attention to speak about your strengths.
Getting promoted takes work, but it also takes strategic communication efforts. When you communicate your strengths and focus on what your company needs, you will be able to tailor your message and get your desired promotion.
If you want to see the full LIVE version of Jessica and Bonnie’s conversation, check out Jessica’s Youtube Channel.
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